Posted: Monday, Feb 20th, 2012
By Ken Curley
Article from The Brookings Register
• Brookings woman reports fraud attempt
A Brookings woman this week was the target of yet another mail scam designed to separate the gullible from their money.
But in this case – a mystery shopper offer – the woman contacted the Brookings County Sheriff’s Office before she followed the scam artist’s instructions, said Assistant Sheriff Scott Sebring.
The mystery or secret shopper letter is a new twist on the “fake check” scam: people receive letters in the mail, accompanied by sizable checks, inviting them to earn extra money as mystery shoppers.
Sebring said the woman’s experience should remind all Brookings County citizens that modern thieves are sophisticated, and if they receive unexpected offers or unsolicited checks in the mail, they would do well to call law enforcement authorities before getting involved.
The assistant sheriff said the letter the woman received purported to be from Mintel, a legitimate, quality market research group with headquarters in London and Chicago. Mintel – short for “market intelligence” – does use mystery shoppers in its research.
Enclosed in the materials the Brookings woman received was a contractor’s agreement along with a cashier’s check in the amount of $4,300.
“The terms of agreement and the check appear to be official,” Sebring said. “Instructions, included in the contract, direct the citizen to sign the agreement and return it to the company via fax. The citizen is directed to call the company at a specific time for further instructions.
“When the victim calls in, however, part of his or her instruction is to deposit the check at their bank and return a portion of the check to the company.”
That’s typical. In most cases, the scammer will instruct the victim then wire most of the money back, keeping several hundred dollars for “wiring fees” and another $100 to purchase merchandise.
“This is just another theft attempt in which scammers are using an established business for the purposes of deception,” Sebring said. “In this particular case, Mintel would not send out documents in this manner and will not call you unless you have registered with them on its website.”
Sebring noted that the checks look real, and many banks readily accept them. It’s only when the phony check bounces that the bank charges back the depositor – the victim – the full $4,300.
“These scams all work pretty much the same way,” Sebring said. “
And because the various transactions can take days to weeks to complete, the scammer is impossible to locate when officials investigate.
Sebring suggests that area residents who receive checks or offers that seem “too good to be true” should not respond. Instead they should report the matter to the Brookings County Sheriff’s Office at 696-8300 or the Brookings Police Department, 692-2113.
Another option is to report the incident to Postal Inspectors online or call the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at 1-877-876-2455.
Contact Ken Curley at kcurley@-brookingsregister.com.
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